“No! We can’t let her take the meat! What if she runs away with it?” Long Zhong objected immediately without a second thought.

He cast a cold gaze at Hu Jiao Jiao. “Big brother, have you forgotten? Every time she gets her hands on meat, she gives it to Ying Yuan. She’d rather share it with other beastmen than give us a single bite. I don’t agree with her taking the meat to the healer!”

Long Zhong had already made up his mind.

With so many prey today, he and his siblings could easily steal one for themselves. That way, they wouldn’t have to rely on the vicious female. They could survive on their own. After all, they had no home anymore. Living as wandering beastmen was a hundred times better than staying with such a cruel female!

“Don’t worry, I’m not taking the meat. I’m not that easy to kill.” Hu Jiao Jiao thought of the half-baked healer in the beast world and quickly gave up the idea.

She remembered that the tribe’s healer was an old blind man, already half in the grave. None of the beastmen who went to him outlived him. Those who knew about him thought he was a vet, but those who didn’t might have thought he was a spy from another tribe!

Hu Jiao Jiao definitely didn’t dare let that kind of healer treat her.

“You better not get any ideas,” Long Zhong glared at her, his eyes full of malice, as if he would tear her apart if she even thought about the meat.

“But Mother…” Long Ling’er looked at Hu Jiao Jiao with a worried expression.

“Don’t worry, Ling’er. Mother still needs to protect you. I won’t let anything happen to me.” Hu Jiao Jiao bent down and gently pinched Long Ling’er’s thin cheeks.

This little girl was far too skinny.

She would have to work harder to fatten up these kids!

“By the way, where are the things from the house?”

Hu Jiao Jiao suddenly realized that all her cooking tools were missing. Could it be that Xiong Hua and the others had taken them?

“Mother, it was second brother who was afraid they’d break the things, so we hid them behind the house,” Long Ling’er began to speak more freely, gradually feeling less afraid of Hu Jiao Jiao.

Hu Jiao Jiao was a bit surprised. She looked toward Long Xiu, who was huddled quietly in the corner. She hadn’t expected that the same Long Xiu, who not long ago had tried to expose her identity, would help hide her things.

In the book, Long Xiu was portrayed as the most sensitive and thoughtful of the small villains. She guessed that he had figured out these items were suspicious and had hidden them to avoid causing trouble with Xiong Hua.

Thinking of this, Hu Jiao Jiao felt a warm feeling in her heart.

“Xiu Xiu, well done! Thanks to you hiding the things, Mother’s belongings were saved!” Hu Jiao Jiao walked over and ruffled Long Xiu’s hair, praising the children without hesitation.

Hearing Hu Jiao Jiao’s words, the children’s ears turned red in unison.

“I didn’t do it for you. I just didn’t want you to find an excuse to beat us…” Long Xiu said stubbornly, pressing his lips together.

Long Ling’er’s eyes curved into crescent moons. Mother had actually praised them! This was the first time Mother had ever complimented them!

Long Zhong turned his face away. Who cared about her praise? What was so great about it anyway?

Long Yu’s expression remained indifferent, as cold as ever. However, his tense toes gripping the ground betrayed his awkwardness.

Even Long Yao, the little dragon, seemed to understand her praise, flying next to her face.

“Chirrup!”
It stuck out its tongue and licked Hu Jiao Jiao’s face in a fawning manner, wagging its tiny tail like an overjoyed puppy.

Hu Jiao Jiao couldn’t help but laugh as she wiped the bird’s saliva off her face.

“You all stay home and play. Mother’s going to the river to deal with the prey. Tonight, I’ll make something delicious for you.” Hu Jiao Jiao glanced at the prey, ignoring the shredded white fox, and dragged a small-sized deer to the river.

Since the cabin was damaged, she couldn’t retreat inside to access her space.

The children were very sensible. Seeing Hu Jiao Jiao go to process the prey, they began tidying up the messy house. After finally getting rid of Xiong Hua, they didn’t want to stir up any more conflicts with Hu Jiao Jiao.

At the river, Hu Jiao Jiao checked to make sure no beastmen were around before quickly slipping into her space. She needed to find a clean cloth to bandage her wounds.

As soon as she entered, she noticed that there was another shelf she could touch. Delighted, she hurried over to inspect it.

The items on this shelf were more miscellaneous. After some searching, she found a medical kit.

It couldn’t have come at a better time!

Hu Jiao Jiao quickly treated her wound and bandaged it with gauze. Then, as an extra precaution, she used a piece of animal hide as a headscarf to cover the gauze. It was better not to let other beastmen see the items from her space. If someone like Xiong Hua saw them, it could stir up more trouble.

Once her wounds were taken care of, Hu Jiao Jiao stepped out of the space and began gutting the deer with a sharp knife, her mind racing.

The last time she’d entered the space, there had only been one shelf. Why had another appeared today? Could it be that something had triggered the space’s permissions?

“Could it be because of the cubs?” A sudden thought struck her.

Reflecting on the change in the cubs attitudes, Hu Jiao Jiao had a realization.

If she could win over the cubs, perhaps she could unlock new features in the space and gain access to more shelves!

In the yard, Long Ling’er watched Hu Jiao Jiao head toward the river, a troubled look on her small face.

Would the Vicious female die?

She’d seen beastmen in the tribe die from injuries before. Thinking of how kind Hu Jiao Jiao had been recently, her feelings were complicated.

That vicious female had been so horrible before. Even if she were to die, it should be at the hands of the siblings, right? How could she die so easily?

Glancing at her brothers, Long Ling’er waited until they weren’t looking and quietly slipped out of the yard.

“Big brother, Ling’er snuck out. I’ll go bring her back!” Long Zhong had already noticed something strange about Long Ling’er.

“Let her go. It’s not like we’ll lose anything,” Long Yu said indifferently, his mature expression making him look like a small old man far beyond his years.

Although Long Zhong was unhappy, he didn’t go after her. He just muttered angrily under his breath, “That vile female… not a single good one in the whole family…”

Hu Jiao Jiao quickly processed the deer, washing it in the river while the blood flowed downstream. Then she carried the venison back to the yard.

She planned to deal with the rest of the prey tomorrow. Today, the priority was fixing the wooden house. Otherwise, they’d be sleeping outside tonight.

Just as she put the venison down, a concerned voice came from behind her.

“Sweetheart! My baby! Where are you hurt? Let me see. Who had the nerve to hurt my precious? I’ll break their legs…”

Hu Jiao Jiao turned around and saw a slender middle-aged woman rushing toward her. Behind her were two males: one a tall, robust middle-aged man, the other a young, energetic male.

Before Hu Jiao Jiao could react, the woman had already reached her, holding her hands and anxiously examining her with teary eyes.

“Sweetheart, let me see where you’re hurt. Let’s go to the healer together. I won’t let anything happen to you!”